Defending Champions Geoffrey Mutai and Caroline Kilel Will Try To Defend Their Crowns At The 2012 Boston Marathon
By David Monti
(c) 2011 Race Results Weekly, all rights res
January 5, 2012
Reigning champions Geoffrey Mutai
and Caroline Kilel will return to the Boston Marathon on Monday, April
16, to defend their titles, organizers reported today. The race, held
every year on Patriots's Day from Hopkinton to Boston, will be contested
for the 116th time this year.
Without the aid of pacemakers Mutai, 30, the
#1-ranked marathoner in the world for 2011 by Track & Field News,
swept to victory at Boston last year in an improbable course record of
2:03:02, the fastest marathon ever run on a certified course. The
self-coached athlete who is sponsored by adidas, followed-up his Boston
victory by winning the ING New York City Marathon last November, also
setting a course record there (2:05:06). He became the first man ever
to set Boston and New York City Marathon course records in the same
year.
"I want to return to Boston to defend my title," the Kenyan explained
through a statement. "I very much liked the race in 2011, because I made
the best time ever run in the marathon."
As part of his training, Mutai will ready
himself for Boston by running the San Blas Half-Marathon in Puerto Rico
on Feb. 5. He will return to Kenya after that to complete his training
for Boston.
Kilel, also a 30 year-old Kenyan, earned her Boston victory in a
three-way sprint against American Desiree Davila and compatriot Sharon
Cherop. She set a personal best 2:22:36, just two seconds up on Davila
and and six seconds ahead of Cherop, then tumbled to the pavement in
exhaustion.
"I have chosen the Boston Marathon because, of course, I had a good
experience by winning in 2011," said the adidas-sponsored Kilel, who
wears her hair in intricate braids. "I hope I can do the same this
year."
The 2012 edition of the Boston Marathon, America's oldest, will mark the
27th year of financial sponsorship by John Hancock Financial, whose
investment in the race makes the participation of the professional
athletes possible. With $150,000 going to the race winners, Boston has
the highest first place prize in marathon running amongst the five
commercial events of the World Marathon Majors, and the largest overall
prize purse.
"Throughout our more than quarter century sponsorship of the Boston
Marathon, John Hancock has each year honored its commitment to bring the
world's top runners to the race, and knowing the defending champions
will return in 2012 is an excellent start to the new year, said Rob
Friedman, head of sponsorship and event marketing at John Hancock.
Boston was the third-largest marathon in the United States in 2011 in
terms of finishers (23,879), and according to the independent
Association of Road Racing Statisticians the race had the most
competitive men's field of any marathon in the world last year with 844
quality points, just edging the ING New York City Marathon by five
points. Boston's women's field was ranked third with 847 points, behind
only the Virgin London Marathon (919) and the World Championships
(851).
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